With the expected launch of new MacBook Pro models on Thursday, a new report claims Apple's hardware will come with 16GB solid-state drives to quickly boot the operating system, and also says the company plans to discontinue its white polycarbonate entry-level MacBook.

Citing a "trusted source," French Apple site MacGeneration reported Tuesday a number of alleged details about Apple's forthcoming MacBook Pro refresh. The site claimed that Apple sees its $999 11-inch MacBook Air as its new entry-level notebook, replacing the current $999 plastic MacBook.

As for the new MacBook Pros, it was said that the notebooks will feature 16GB Go SSD mSATA drives that will store the Mac OS X operating system. This separate internal drive would allow the devices to boot faster from solid state memory, much like with the new all-flash MacBook Air models. Similar details were claimed in a separate report on Monday.

The 13-inch model will also reportedly abandon the Core 2 Duo processor and make the move to Intel's Core i3 chip. The report also said that the 13-inch MacBook Pro will also have a screen resolution of 1,440-by-900 pixels, and will feature three USB ports.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is also believed to offer 12 hours of battery life, and will allegedly weigh 200 grams less. And it said users will have the option to add a matte screen to the high-end 13-inch MacBook Pro. Prices for the two 13-inch models were said to be €1,199 and €1,499.

On the larger 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro models, MacGeneration claims that Apple will offer customers the option to replace the SuperDrive with a solid-state drive. The 15-inch model was said to be lighter at 2.3kg, while the 17-inch model will weigh 2.65kg. It also said the 15-inch MacBook Pro will offer 10 hours of battery life.

In addition, it was said that the 17-inch MacBook Pro will have 8GB of RAM, while the 15-inch model was said to have a screen resolution of 1,680 by 1,050 pixels.

Finally, the site heard from another source that Apple is expected to debut "new technology" in the new MacBook Pro models, a tidbit that implies the inclusion of Intel's high-speed Lightpeak technology. Last week, a separate report claimed that Apple is on the verge of announcing the new connector for its Mac lineup.

MacGeneration has a respectable track record with Apple-related product leaks. Last year, ahead of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, the site revealed details about the Safari 5 Web browser before it was announced.

users directory being on a different volume than the boot volume? I have played with that and its a pain in the a** no matter how you do it. Its not just files, its the whole user directory library which contains caches, prefs, app support etc.

users directory being on a different volume than the boot volume? I have played with that and its a pain in the a** no matter how you do it. Its not just files, its the whole user directory library which contains caches, prefs, app support etc.

I agree the standard install for apps as well as users folder would change. An OS update would be needed. I dont see this rolling out right now. Not this close to ( far from?) 10.7 coming out

*sniffle, sniffle* I remember getting my first laptop way back when the first white iBook with only a CD OD came out. Man oh man, I thought it was the coolest laptop on the planet. The Dock was on the bottom and you could make the "genie" effect. So cool! Slot loading OD. Then I added a wifi card ($79) and put it in myself! Wow! I loved that machine! Even the white pwr brick was pretty and had a unique feature. I think Apple called it cable management or something!

But the Apple white motif had its day, I guess. For a long time I preferred the white so much more than the corporate colors of funeral black and pallbearer gray of the PC world. It was so bright, clean and fresh. Chicks would come up to me like it was a cute little puppy or something.

So long old friend!

I do now prefer the cool aluminum look of the MBA's and MBP's, iMacs and the iPad, iPhone 4, etc. Especially because of the recyclable qualities of the aluminum and glass.

With all these rumors from supposed "insiders" you would think there would be some solid information about the video processor. If they plan to use the integrated graphics included with Sandy Bridge as the primary video source, I don't see how this would be an improvement over the current generation. The standard SSD option would be nice, but you could always change out the drive in a current generation MBP and get the same benefit.

Until one of the rumors comments on the GPU, I'll remain skeptical on any details I see......

FYI- I've never owned a Mac, and plan to buy one as soon as the new generation is launched. Depending on the new specs I'll either get a new one, or one of the numerous used ones that will end up on ebay and Craigslist once the new ones are announced.

Exciting times for those looking to buy or upgrade. My one and a half year old 17" mbp is still going strong, but I'm seriously thinking about swapping out the superdrive for an SSD to give it a little bit of a boost (and to help relieve the feeling of being left behind!).

How are they dealing with the users directory being on a different volume than the boot volume?

It doesn't sound very difficult for the unix engineers at Apple to do this. Unix has long been able to mount a partition at any arbitrary location, e.g. 2nd hard disk mounted at /Users. OS X can do this.

I can't wait for this machine to go on sale as I'll be replacing my dearly departed 1st generation MBP (32-bit Core Duo). This was a good machine when it worked, but over its lifespan was also the most problematic Mac I've ever owned. Three batteries due to the bulging battery issue, and two logic board replacements. Another logic board issue finally finished it off (cost of repair vs. cost of new machine). Sandy Bridge is supposed to offer quite a performance boost; these new machines could be the most exciting portables Apple has released in years.

The "new technology" could be the 16GB boot disk, if that's real. Though I would hope it's LightPeak.

That's not what it says. It's not a 16 GB Boot disk, it's an SSD/platter hybrid disk - like the Seagate Momentus. Seagate claims that they obtain 83% of the performance of a true SSD at only a modest cost premium. That makes infinitely more sense than for Apple to add a 16 GB SSD to a separate hard disk - and then try to educate users to keep their frequently used files on the SSD and their archives on the hard disk.

"I'm way over my head when it comes to technical issues like this"Gatorguy 5/31/13

Exciting times for those looking to buy or upgrade. My one and a half year old 17" mbp is still going strong, but I'm seriously thinking about swapping out the superdrive for an SSD to give it a little bit of a boost (and to help relieve the feeling of being left behind!).

How do you do that? Are there optical drives shaped SSD's? Would be cool. I upgraded my MBP years ago with a 256GB SSD, the unit rocks now, and no vibrations from the drive.

Dropping the macbook in place of the air could be hard for schools - the lack of an ethernet port for master image laptop depoloyment is a major loss. There will be tears if this happens... imaging hundreds of machines with usb/ethernet adapters would be a PITA...

users directory being on a different volume than the boot volume? I have played with that and its a pain in the a** no matter how you do it. Its not just files, its the whole user directory library which contains caches, prefs, app support etc.

Speaking as someone who's done Unix system administration for <counts on fingers... runs out..> many years, it's trivial to locate filesystem subtrees on different volumes and make them appear as if they're all part of a single tree. The whole Users, Applications, and Developer directories (the big ones on my system) can be located on the spinning disk and then symbolic linked into /

It doesn't sound very difficult for the unix engineers at Apple to do this. Unix has long been able to mount a partition at any arbitrary location, e.g. 2nd hard disk mounted at /Users. OS X can do this.

If this is happening Apple would make the two drives invisible - or rather, appear like one. No way would Apple sacrifice usability for speed. EVERYBODY would end up complaining.

Speaking as someone who's done Unix system administration for <counts on fingers... runs out..> many years, it's trivial to locate filesystem subtrees on different volumes and make them appear as if they're all part of a single tree. The whole Users, Applications, and Developer directories (the big ones on my system) can be located on the spinning disk and then symbolic linked into /

Right... and does anyone really think apple would bother with this if it weren't seamless? Too many Mac users (and PC users, for that matter) would have a hell of a lot of trouble dealing with two partitions, especially with one as small as 16gb, they were forced to constantly rearrange files and set priorities.

That's not what it says. It's not a 16 GB Boot disk, it's an SSD/platter hybrid disk - like the Seagate Momentus. Seagate claims that they obtain 83% of the performance of a true SSD at only a modest cost premium. That makes infinitely more sense than for Apple to add a 16 GB SSD to a separate hard disk - and then try to educate users to keep their frequently used files on the SSD and their archives on the hard disk.

That does sound a lot simpler. If there's any truth to this rumor, then I'll bet that's what they do. Having a separate stick of memory like the one in the air would be creating a lot of complication. I'll bet you're right and they do it like the Momentus, and perhaps make it work better or in a more defined way. It would be a more minor software tweak, probably like a point release. Plus they could give it a special name and a flashy new icon, and charge a lot more to replace it when it breaks. Apple loves to do that.

Then again they could sell a separate stick as a "speeder upper" and then sell bigger and bigger proprietary sticks.

Either way it goes (stick or momentus) I'll bet it shows up like one disk in the system.

And it said users will have the option to add a matte screen to the high-end 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Wow, nobody has commented on this yet? If the high-end 13" should have dedicated graphics and a matte/anti-glare option, then I have finally found my everyday notebook (and my 17" MBP will not be updated for another year).

Not sure if I should wish for LightPeak. Smells like another huge wave of $29.95 adapters on the horizon.

If this is happening Apple would make the two drives invisible - or rather, appear like one. No way would Apple sacrifice usability for speed. EVERYBODY would end up complaining.

Not sure what you're implying by "sacrifice usability". There is no reason an end user have to know there are 2 separate drives; it's an internal complication that Apple engineers are supposed to figure out for you.

Having them appear as a single drive saves Apple from having to educate users on technical differences between SSD & HD drives, and non-techie users don't need to worry about choosing which file goes on what drive.

Dropping the macbook in place of the air could be hard for schools - the lack of an ethernet port for master image laptop depoloyment is a major loss. There will be tears if this happens... imaging hundreds of machines with usb/ethernet adapters would be a PITA...

Dropping the macbook in place of the air could be hard for schools - the lack of an ethernet port for master image laptop depoloyment is a major loss. There will be tears if this happens... imaging hundreds of machines with usb/ethernet adapters would be a PITA...

-Dan

What are the chances of them updating the Air as well to Sandy Bridge? Renaming the line Macbook and Macbook Pro - only the Pro with OD, all with Sandy Bridge, all aluminium and dropping the Air nomenclature. Could that be the 5 product numbers we've seen?

There is no reason an end user have to know there are 2 separate drives; it's an internal complication that Apple engineers are supposed to figure out for you.

Having them appear as a single drive saves Apple from having to educate users on technical differences between SSD & HD drives, and non-techie users don't need to worry about choosing which file goes on what drive.

Core i and 12 hour battery would be great additions, but pretty much go hand in hand with each other and are nothing revolutionary though very impressive.

The SSD part however is very interesting and would really bring MacBooks in the same category as iPads in terms of startup speed, what apple called instant on. Hopefully this will have an even better tie in with the lion upgrade to deliver even faster boots and even longer standby times.

users directory being on a different volume than the boot volume? I have played with that and its a pain in the a** no matter how you do it. Its not just files, its the whole user directory library which contains caches, prefs, app support etc.

I don't get why everyone is so confused about this, all it takes is:

Code:

mount /dev/sdb1 /Users

in Unix the filesystem has nothing to do with your hard drive layout. all they have to do is not list the system partition in finder by default.

That does sound a lot simpler. If there's any truth to this rumor, then I'll bet that's what they do. Having a separate stick of memory like the one in the air would be creating a lot of complication. I'll bet you're right and they do it like the Momentus, and perhaps make it work better or in a more defined way. It would be a more minor software tweak, probably like a point release. Plus they could give it a special name and a flashy new icon, and charge a lot more to replace it when it breaks. Apple loves to do that.

Then again they could sell a separate stick as a "speeder upper" and then sell bigger and bigger proprietary sticks.

Either way it goes (stick or momentus) I'll bet it shows up like one disk in the system.

Let's hope they are not using the Momentus Hybrid...nothing but problems for people lately with these drives, especially with Macs.

Seagate is working on this (looks like a firmware issue) so it's pretty serious...

I keep all my data in a separate partition with only bare essentials in my home folder. Yet my boot partition already exceeds 60GB. 16 is worthless.

That 60GB isnt required for booting your system. Just because you are storing all but your personal content on that partition doesnt mean its required for booting.

I have absolutely no idea why so many of you think that the physical drive has to contain so much data and that Apple, controlling the HW and OS cant make this seamless to the user. Additionally, I have no idea why you have separate partitions for your content.

The 2 MacBook and 4 MacBooks Air models show shipping within 24 hours, which would be consistent with EOL-ing the MacBook and continuing the Air as is.

FWIW, the plastic enclosure on my 2-year-old MacBook has not been anywhere near as durable as my warhorse aluminum PowerBook G4.

You would be shocked at how many consumers want a white plastic notebook computer. An associate of mine has no trouble selling used MacBooks and even ancient iBooks, but struggles to move far superior MBPros and PowerBooks at similar prices.